CIA Torture Scandal Reveals Dramatic Loss of Values

The USA — Foreign Friends

Friends of the United States of America have had it easier. How this great nation, refuge and haven for hundreds of years, has shaped the world! In 1776 the Declaration of Independence, the first time that human rights were bound in a written form, was signed. In the 19th century many European freedom fighters found asylum across the Atlantic, and in 1941, the U.S. helped to free Germany and Europe from Hitler’s wrongful regime. Whether in culture, business or thinking — “The American Way of Life” has influenced the world, its people and our lives.

But America, unfortunately, shows a different, grotesque face after 2001. In response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the U.S. has responded carelessly — the completely overburdened President George W. Bush, the belligerent Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and a runaway intelligence service. The Iraq war began with false evidence and ended in chaos of an entire region. The Central Intelligence Agency behaved like the intelligence service of a sinister dictatorship and deceived policy makers as if the United States were a banana republic. Continuing new releases of torture practices hurt friends of America. But that should not be overlooked; it speaks for the United States, that the conduct of the intelligence service is not only studied but now also published. Not many countries are capable of such transparency and self-criticism. Also, it should not be overlooked that the U.S. is described as being in a state of war after the terrorist attacks — and this may explain many transgressions and crimes. They are not to be justified.

It takes a long time to build a country’s credibility and reputation in the world. The terrorists of Sept. 11, 2001, which hated nothing so much as freedom, human rights and Western values, have destroyed more than the twin towers of New York; they have begun to reach the parts of the U.S. that betray freedom, human rights and Western values. This damage weighs heavier. And it will last longer.